Memories
by Sakamoto Asuka
Summary: All right all! This is one of many of my first fics for this site. 'Tis about a young girl by the name of Memori, who was found without any memory of her past. Let it be noted that I'll take any and all suggestions, comments and ideas!
1. Chapter 1

_I don't think there is any way to explain what I felt when I woke up. I knew nothing of my past -- not my name, how old I am, what my favorite color is; nothing. My first memory, I remember seeing a lot of white, and very few furniture. Voices were traded back and forth from either side of me, discussing things I couldn't make any sense of. I remember a soothing voice asking if I remembered anything before they found me, supposedly outside their village, unconscious. All I could give him was a shake of the head, yet it felt like my head knew more than it was letting on._

_I didn't know whether to be scared, confused, or relieved. Everything seemed so strange… A few days rolled by, and I learned that I was in something called 'The Konoha Hospital' in a village called 'Hidden in the Leaves;' whatever that means. That same voice from before I finally matched to a face of an elderly man with a rather interesting ceremonial hat on his head. He introduced himself as Sarutobi Sandaime and a strange word: the Third Hokage. I realized that Sarutobi liked to visit me a lot, and just talk. Not about what I can remember— that was the medics' job— but just of his day and what he learned. I began to feel comfortable around him and decided to find my voice…_

Every morning, around ten o'clock or so, that same creek of a sound from the bedroom door sounded and in walked Sarutobi. And, like always, I'd be sitting in the hospital bed, the blankets askew around my knees staring at him. He'd smile, the wrinkles around his eyes curving as he removed his ceremonial hat and sat himself down at my side. I wanted to smile back, but I couldn't will the muscles in my face to go through with it.

"Good morning, did you sleep okay last night?" I nodded, keeping my dark eyes locked onto his friendly face. "I think, right about now, the students in the Academy are finishing up their exam. I wished them all luck before hand; I just hope it was enough," he chuckled to himself, yet I stayed silent, watching, listening.

Sarutobi studied me a moment then to my surprise got to his feet and made his way around the opposite side of my bed, blocking my view of the window. He was quiet for a while and I knew he was going over many thoughts in his head, but what? I wanted to ask. I wanted to ask why, how, when, I wanted to ask him what it's like to have the weight of an entire village on his shoulders with a smile like that. I had so many questions, like a newborn baby.

"I gave it a lot of thought, and I think I've come up with the right one," he said aloud after a long silence, gently lacing his aged fingers behind his back. I was a little confused, what did he come up with? As if to answer, he turned around to face me, smiling. "Do you like the name Memori?"

I blinked, the confused emotion filling my blank eyes for the first time. This only made Sarutobi laugh. "It simply means 'memory,'" he explained. "I thought it suited you, at least until you recover your real name."

I shifted my gaze down to my lap, going over the name in my head. Memori… Meh-more-e. I suddenly felt overwhelmed with an emotion I wasn't used to. I had a name, and my mind didn't feel so lost all of a sudden. Like the moment that name entered my thoughts, I grasped onto it, the only thing I knew. I was happy, no, I was ecstatic.

"Thank you… Sarutobi-samma," my voice was small, but held a strong tone.

Sarutobi seemed a bit surprised at the sudden sound of my voice but it was quickly replaced with a fatherly smile, one that he most likely used all the time. "Your welcome, Memori."

In the same instant, my face suddenly remembered how to smile and it felt so nice that I even pulled out a grin that curved up into my eyes. Sarutobi… I wondered if my own father was anything like him, if so, I must have been a lucky kid.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, I found myself sitting at the small coffee table across my room with a medic

The next morning, I found myself sitting at the small coffee table across my room with a medic. He was trying to teach me a board game he called 'Go.' I caught on quickly and beat him in the game five times in a row, of which, he wasn't too thrilled with.

"Beginners luck," he grumbled. I giggled, grinning widely again, the action becoming much more of a habit each time I feel excited or that flutter of happiness in my chest.

Somewhere in the middle of the game, Sarutobi, like always, came by to visit me, knocking before entering. I greeted him with a wave and he smiled in return but I didn't expect the second visitor whom followed Sarutobi in. I tilted my head at the man with his mess of silver hair and lazy posture. He raised a hand in greeting and smiled, or so I thought he did. It was hard to tell with a mask and headband covering more than half of his face. I looked to Sarutobi in question, who caught it and introduced his friend.

"Memori, this is Hatake Kakashi. He has volunteered to share his living quarters with you until we find a suitable apartment for you."

"Yo," Kakashi simply said, with a bit of a lazy tone.

I traded glances between the two, the medic having of left on Sarutobi's orders a while ago. I wondered if it really was okay to stay with a complete stranger. Part of me said it wasn't a good idea but the adventurous and more curious part of me wanted to know more about this Hatake Kakashi. Also, the thought of stepping outside of the hospital and exploring the many sounds outside my window excited me to the point of bursting, but I somehow managed to hold it in.

"Um, all right," I struggled with the right words to say. "Are you sure its okay though?"

"Of course it is," reassured Sarutobi. "Kakashi said he wouldn't mind. Besides, you can learn a lot from him."

I thought about it a moment longer, still a little timid about this sudden change, but none the less, I got to my feet and grinned. "M'kay, am I going right now?"

Sarutobi questioned Kakashi for the answer and he simply shrugged. Sarutobi smiled and nodded to me. "Yes, if you need anything, let Kakashi know, or myself. I most likely will be found in my office, Kakashi will show you where it is."

"Okay."

And that was it. Since I didn't have any luggage or any belongs beside the hospital clothes I wore and the torn clothes I was found in, Kakashi and I left the hospital. Once I was outside, the sun seemed brighter than it did out my window and I had to halt a moment, shielding my eyes from its welcoming rays. The sounds of Konoha village filled me with curiosity. The sounds of nearby conversations, excited squeals from the children of the village as they ran by; the sound of daily life filled me with warmth. This was definitely a peaceful place. Almost seeming untouched by the world outside. I hurried to catch up with Kakashi who was waiting patiently for me to follow, my senses taking in every sight, sound, smell and touch. There was so much to take in! How was I supposed to even begin? The buildings were closely built together but it held a sense of safety and a homey atmosphere. People walked in every direction talking, laughing and going about their daily business. Konoha's architecture is now the second memory I'll hold onto forever and vow to never forget its welcoming feeling.

"Enjoying yourself?" I turned my attention up to Kakashi who was looking down at me with amusement. I nodded in response, suddenly missing the urge to talk again without Sarutobi around.

Kakashi then decided to point out different buildings giving me a bit of a small tour as we headed down the street. I learned the names of buildings and hot spots of Konoha that I mentally marked on a map in my head: Ichiraku Ramen Shop and Yamanaka Flower Shop. The flowers smelled nice as the two of us walked by. I wondered what king of flower Kakashi liked? I could tell Kakashi was taking the longest route he could come up with to his apartment just so I could absorb every corner I could of my surroundings because he kept pausing, mulling over which direction to take next.

"All right, there isn't much in the fridge right now but I think there are a few cups of ramen in the cupboard." Kakashi pointed to the kitchen across the way, his doorway opening into the living room which had a couch, a chair, and a coffee table. Other than those few pieces of furniture, there weren't any photos around at all. "Oi, this way."

I followed after Kakashi down the hall passing the first door on my right of which he explained was the bathroom. I passed the second room down the hall but he didn't say anything so I assumed it to be his room. Kakashi stopped at an opened door and I peeked in. There was a bed off to the side under the window and a dresser, pretty much like the living room: empty, but roomy.

"This is your room."

I looked up at Kakashi, making sure I heard him right before walking into the room, immediately making my way to the window. The view stretched over a few buildings before it hit the bigger ones but it was nice, private. I glanced back and grinned at Kakashi letting him know that I'm not totally disappointed.

"Arigato, Kakashi-sensei," that rolled off my tongue easily enough.

Kakashi seemed a little confused at first then smiled in return. What was there to say? I didn't know him very well and he didn't seem to be the type to openly talk, like Sarutobi does. So, the rest of the day went on pretty slow. Kakashi said I shouldn't wonder out on my own just yet, as to why, he didn't say so I spent the day sitting on my window sill watching people walk by, unaware of the stranger in their village.

I rested my forehead against the glass, the cool pane soothing the nervous and anxious knots in my gut, suddenly feeling lost again. Watching a mother scold her child on the street and the father simply laughing in defense made my chest hurt. I was lonely. I couldn't understand why I could not remember my own parents. I couldn't remember my mother's face or the sound of my father's voice. What if I didn't have any parents at all? No, I had to have came from somewhere… but where? As I desperately searched my unforgiving blank memories I didn't even pay any mind to the tears that traveled down my cheeks and fell from my chin, nor did I care that the will to grin was gone again. I went without dinner that night, the feeling of being in such an alien world that shouldn't be alien at all causing me to feel ill. I felt numb. I felt lost.

Sometime during the night, Memori had fallen asleep against that window, curled up like a lost kitten. Kakashi hesitated a moment, before he walked over to her, feeling a pang of guilt in his heart: maybe he should have taken her to Ichiraku or something, instead of leaving her by herself. Kakashi carefully moved Memori from the window and placed her on the bed, tucking her in. She frowned in her sleep and rolled over, curling up against the blankets. Her eyes were red and swollen. Had she been crying? He stood back, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, not used to the idea of taking care of a thirteen-year-old, or is she fourteen? No way to know for sure. _Good night, Memori_.


	3. Chapter 3

It took a couple days to get used to the idea that I wasn't rooming in the hospital anymore, but in fact, with Hatake Kakashi

It took a couple days to get used to the idea that I wasn't rooming in the hospital anymore, but in fact, with Hatake Kakashi. For the past couple of mornings, Kakashi slept in 'till at least noon, so I figured that he wasn't a morning person and kept quiet when I woke. I walked into the bathroom and studied my reflection in the mirror. What stared back at me was a tangle mess of dark blonde hair around a young face with what looked like, black eyes (they're really brown, but one more shade and they might turn black). I let out a long yawn before proceeding to brush my hair out and my teeth-- both brushes I picked out but Kakashi bought them for me. Although, I was still in desperate need for a few other items. Like clothes for instance. I was forced to wear the clothes Konoha found me in which was a tattered and faded out black tank top and blue shorts with a few ripped seams. I glared disapprovingly at myself in the mirror once dressed. I looked like a homeless person! Not to mention my clothes made me look like I just got done fighting for my life. This made me wonder… maybe that was why I couldn't remember?

"Kakashi-sensei?" I knocked on his bedroom door to see if he was awake, when an answer didn't come, I knocked again, to my displeasure, repeating myself. When the answer still didn't come, I held my breath in attempting to turn the handle. Unfortunately I found the door locked, so I left it be, whether he's in there or not.

I thought about going outside and taking a walk, but Kakashi said I'm not allowed to go anywhere on my own which frustrated me a little, but I obeyed anyway. So, I kept myself busy by organizing the items in the kitchen, and cleaning with what supplies I could find. It was better than staring outside like a caged animal.

"Oi." I nearly tore the fridge door off the hinges when Kakashi's voice suddenly filled my left ear. I looked around finding him directly behind me, his hands in his pockets dressed in his usual attire. "What are you doing?"

"…Cleaning?" Kakashi didn't seem to thrilled that I organized his things.

He sighed dismissing the subject after a look of warning I will remember next time. "Anyway, I'm going to go out and meet my Genin right now, do you want to come along?"

"Genin…" I trailed off the word, recalling the meaning in the mess of thoughts in my head. "Ah, that's a low rank ninja right?"

Kakashi smiled in his own unique way. "Yes, very good."

I beamed, soaking in the praise. "Okay, I'll come."

Kakashi had lead the way to what he called 'Training Grounds.' So far, I just saw a bunch of trees and more trees until we came to a clearing. I was too busy looking around in awe to notice that Kakashi had stopped and found myself running smack into his back. He grumbled under his breath in a sort of 'be careful' tone. Embarrassed I took several steps backwards away from him, making sure there's enough room between us. Kakashi then raised his hand in greetings to the three in the middle of the clearing.

"Yo."

"**Your late!**" Two of them screamed, pointing at Kakashi in annoyance and disbelief.

"Sorry, sorry… a black cat crossed my path so—"

"Who's she?" The third bluntly— and to my discomfort— pointed me out.

The three now turned their attention on me and the only thing I could do was smile neverously. Suddenly I wanted to just shrink away into nonexistence. What was I supposed to say? The blonde boy who stood to the right gave me a suspicious look, squinting his eyes in a fox like manner at me. The pink harried girl looked utterly confused, blinking at me while the second boy just gave me a blank expression, not showing the least bit of interest.

Kakashi clapped a hand on my shoulder, causing me to flinch. "This is Memori. If you don't mind, she's going to watch."

"Memori?" The blonde one blurted out my name. I guessed by his unusual bright attire that his favorite color was orange. "Hahaha! That's a funny name!"

The girl with the pink hair whacked the blonde over the head, suddenly furious about something. "Baka! That's not nice to say to someone you just met!" The pink girl then suddenly bowed politely to me, her angered look suddenly replaced by a sweet smile. "I'm Haruno Sakura. Please to meet you, Memori."

I shuffled uneasily, smiling in return.

"Hey, hey, hey!" the blonde suddenly leapt into my view of Sakura, pointing to himself obviously trying to get my attention. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! And I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever!"

I blinked in confusion. "You want to be Sarutobi-samma?"

Naruto gasped. "You know him?" The kid was loud, that I knew right off the bat, and probably has more energy than anyone else around.

"Um… yes?" I suddenly felt like I shouldn't have said that. Why was it harder to converse with others that seem to be the same age as me?

"Ahem…" Kakashi made it clear that he was starting to get impatient, honestly, I forgot he was there for a moment. "All right, now that we all know each other, let's get started—Memori, you go ahead and take a seat."

I wandered over to a nearby tree and made myself comfortable against it, watching the four with interest. On the way here, Kakashi had mentioned something about a test. As I watched, Kakashi pulled out two bells from his pocket and in an instant there was confusement among the Genin as to what they were supposed to do. I bet they were going to have to try and steal them from Kakashi. And I was right! Kakashi explained the rules to the Genin and with a single word, the three darted off to hide until they spotted the right time to attack. Although, like I figured, Naruto had decided to stay out in the open and declared that he wished to fight fair and square. Kakashi was a bit disgruntled about this.

"I thought ninjas were supposed to hide and stuff?" I questioned out loud and Kakashi nodded in agreement and dived into taunts toward the flustered blonde.

I wondered where the other two were and glanced around for them. With Sakura's odd hair color, I didn't think she was too hard to find and I was right: she was hidden under a bush a little ways off from my position. As to where the other boy was, I didn't know and didn't have time to think about it as I watched several Narutos springing out of the water. I blinked in shock, how could there by eight Narutos!? I frowned in concentration, trying to recall an explanation or at least come up with one, but Sarutobi hadn't said anything about splitting yourself into clones. Clones! Maybe that's what they are, just copies of yourself. I made a mental note to ask Kakashi how to do that.

Although Naruto was full of energy and ready to take the tallest mountain down, he still found himself foiled by Kakashi, who tricked Naruto into attacking himself. _Poor Naruto, he's not very good at this is he?_ All I could do was giggle to myself, trying to hold in a loud laugh that demanded to be noticed.

"What!? What's so funny!?" Naruto fumed in my direction, but he wasn't mad at me, but at Kakashi. Naruto then turned his attention to the ground, as did I and we both saw a glint beside a tree just to my left. "Ah! A bell! He must have dropped it!"

I tilted my head curiously. Kakashi didn't seem the type to just randomly drop what they are after. "Wait—"

Too late.

Naruto found himself caught in a trap, dangling upside down by his ankle, flailing his arms like a chicken caught on wire. Kakashi casually came forth, picking up the bell in one hand and placing the other on his hip. Kakashi was a little mean toward Naruto, calling him names and telling him he should of known that it was trap, but I know he's a nice guy, quiet, but nice.

What came next, I didn't expect at all but my body seemed to have because in seconds I sprang up to my feet shouting in Kakashi's direction. Something dangerous was heading his way. The other boy had sent a barrage of weapons to Kakashi's unguarded side, of which hit target. I gasped, as Kakashi toppled over, Naruto screaming in surprise. I flinched awaiting the smell of blood to reach my senses.

"Ahhh! Sasuke! You went to far!" Although, to my relief, the weapons really hit a log… wait a second, a log? But I could of sworn Kakashi was standing right there, so how did the log switch places with him? I don't remember him carrying one around with him, as funny as that would be.

I waited a moment, wondering if Kakashi was going to reappear, but he did not, probably went after that boy who threw the attack. I glanced over to where I last saw Sakura, but she wasn't there either. So, I turned to the flailing Naruto and the pinned log. I walked over to him, listening to him rant and curse Kakashi under his breath.

"Do you need help down?"

"No! I can do it myself!"

I frowned at his stubbornness but let him cut himself free like he wanted, only to get pulled back up to his previous position, the second rope wrapped around his opposite ankle. This time I couldn't help it, the guy was funny and I just openly laughed.

"Stop laughing at me! You wouldn't be laughing if _you_ were the one hanging upside down!"

"I can't help it, your funny." I grinned and noticed that he was suddenly embarrassed. A tint of red made it's way across his face before he grinned in the same fashion.

"Ah? What's that over there," Naruto had turned his attention to an area behind three propped up stumps. I tilted my head to look as well and just behind them was a beautifully carved stone with what looked like writing along the front, but they were too far to see what it spelled out. That wasn't what Naruto was looking at anyway, but the two lunches that sat upon it. "Oooooh… 'a ninja must see underneath the underneath!'" Naruto chuckled to himself in a plotting sort of way.


	4. Chapter 4

"Uh, Naruto, I don't think your supposed to cheat…" I stood at the blonde's side as he made himself comfortable, chopsticks in hand, ready to devour the lunches.

"Ah, he won't find out! I'll just blame it on a bear or something," he grinned. "Let's eat, Memori!"

"Oi…" I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck, Kakashi had been squatting on the top of the chiseled rock just over Naruto's head the whole time, and he didn't even notice.

"Uh… just kidding?" Naruto joked nervously attempting to use humor to get out of punishment.

"Try again," replied an innocently smiling Kakashi.

I sat myself on the ground a little ways away from the three in training Genins. It was noon and the alarm clock went off as expected signaling the end of the test. Moments later, Sakura and the other boy—who I guessed by Naruto's earlier shout, was called Sasuke—returned. The two took their seat on the either side of Naruto, who to his disappointment, was tied to the middle log, as was the punishment for the one who didn't receive a bell, but in his case: cheated.

I watched as Kakashi spoke to his Genin about why they could not get a bell, about how they should just give up on becoming ninja forever because they aren't worth it. I myself thought this was kind of harsh and not necessary but I don't know what it means to be a ninja, so I dismissed the feeling. However, I noticed that Sasuke didn't seem very cheerful. Frankly, he was so furious that he charged Kakashi with intent to run a blade through his skull. Sasuke was easily intercepted by his target in a blur of movements, Kakashi now sitting on the boy, restricting all movements from him. For added humiliation, he placed a foot on Sasuke's head, shoving his face into the ground. Poor Sasuke.

"Hey! Don't step on Sasuke-kun!" Sakura was suddenly angry about something, like before. But Kakashi didn't seem to care. He was frustrated and nearly sickened over the three. There was a lesson in this test to be learned, and the three were too blind to figure it out. He tried to rouse the idea in their heads by asking why they thought they were in teams of three. Even I could of guessed, for—

"**Teamwork**." The word suddenly sparked the meaning of the test in the Genin's head. "The three of you working together may have gotten the bells."

Sakura didn't seem too convinced. "What do you mean by teamwork!? There are only two bells! Even if we worked together and got the bells one of us would still fail. What teamwork? That just makes us fight each other."

"Of course," Kakashi explained. "This test is purposely set up to make you fight amongst yourselves. The purpose on whether you can forget about your own interests and successfully work together under these designed circumstances.

"Yet, you guys… Sakura!" She flinched. "You only worried about Sasuke and didn't care about Naruto who was right in front of you. Naruto!" He flinched as well. "All you managed to do was run around all by yourself," he indicated to Sasuke who was still pinned below him. "And you thought the other two would just get in your way and so decided to do everything by yourself.

"The duties are done by the team. Of course superior individual ability is important to a ninja. But what's even more important is "teamwork." Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger. And even get you killed. For example," he paused to draw a kunai, flipping it around and placing the point at Sasuke's throat. "Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies!"

"**Eh!?**" The other two began to panic, thinking Kakashi was serious, Naruto the more panicked one. Even I flinched in surprise, Kakashi either was a really good actor, or serious. I gave a sigh of relief when he stood from Sasuke, withdrawing his weapon.

"You see? If a hostage is taken, you will have tough choices and then die. You'll be risking your lives in these duties." Sakura gave a sigh of relief and Naruto thanked his lucky star that he was only joking. I watched Kakashi trail off to the chiseled rock of which I sat beside. He seemed saddened by something and I didn't need psychic powers to know, it showed in his eye. "Look at this, the numerous names carved onto this stone. These are the names of ninjas who are recognized as heroes of the village."

"Ah!" Naruto suddenly got excited. "That's what I want to be! I want to get my name carved into that stone and be a hero! A hero!"

"But, they aren't just normal heroes…" I turned my attention to the ground below me, frowning.

"What? What kind of heroes are they?"

"K.I.A."

Naruto seemed confused, so Sakura filled in for him. "K.I.A: Killed In Action."

"This is a memorial," Kakashi continued in a soft voice. "My best friend's name is also carved here…" Once that was said, the four of them and even myself suddenly felt sad for those people and a moment of silence was shared.

"So, since I'm beginning to like you guys, I'll give you one more chance, but after lunch its going to be even harder to retrieve a bell."

"So we won't have to go back to the academy?" Naruto had regained his excited expression.

"No. Go ahead and eat your lunch but Naruto doesn't get any. He disobeyed the rules and as punishment, goes without any. I am the rule here… got that?" The Genin fell silent, hearing his words. With that Kakashi began to walk away, I moved to follow after him but halted when he shook his head. "Stay here Memori." He handed me a lunch box with chopsticks.

I frowned, but rested back again, obeying and opened the lunch box, my growling stomach demanding to be fed. A few moments passed and it was silent except for the sounds of the wild life around them. I noticed Sakura kept glancing in my direction and I didn't know if she was scowling or smiling because I didn't want to look up and let her know I see her. The silence was suddenly interrupted by Naruto's stomach, which roared with such volume you'd think there was a beast inside of him.

"I-I'm okay! This is no big deal! I can go weeks without food!" Naruto tried to hide it behind a grin but his stomach protested again and he just didn't have the energy to keep it. "I'm fine…"

I thought about sharing my lunch with Naruto, but approaching the three was another issue. I felt too awkward with them and didn't know how to go about talking with them. Although, Sasuke seemed to have been thinking the same thing and held his lunch out to Naruto. Naruto stared at the lunch box in disbelief. Even I was a little surprised. The raven hair boy didn't seem the kind to share anything at all.

"But, Sasuke-kun, Kakashi said—"

"It's all right, I don't sense him anywhere nearby. Besides, we have to work as a team right? Naruto would just get in the way if he was too hungry." I smiled. Well said Sasuke!

Sakura looked at her barely eaten lunch in thought. Then as if it took every ounce of will power, she also held her lunch out to Naruto who stared at her in awe. "S-Sakura-chan!" Sakura smiled sweetly as she did to me earlier.

"Go ahead and eat Naruto."

"B-but, isn't that your lunch?"

"You can have it, besides I'm on a diet and eat less than Sasuke does. So, go ahead."

"But, I—" Naruto attempted to lift his arms, but the rope denied that movement.

"Hurry up, we don't know when he'll be coming back," growled Sasuke under his breath.

Sakura suddenly seemed embarrassed and like before, shouted in an angry tone. The girl has a temper problem or something. "I'm only doing this once… You hear me Naruto!? Never again!"

"Yup!" Naruto looked like he had just dropped into heaven as Sakura began to feed him. I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"What!? You think this is funny!?" Sakura screamed in my direction, almost missing Naruto's mouth and stabbing him in the eye.

I didn't have a chance to respond because Kakashi suddenly came sprinting back, his eye a flurry of rage. I yelped in surprise, as did the other three. Why the hell was the weather suddenly turning wild!?

"**What's this!? You guys…"** Kakashi looked like he was prepared for war. Sasuke looked ready to fight to the death, Sakura screamed and Naruto flailed around helplessly against the log. "…Pass."

The three were shocked into momentarily silence. "What?" Even I caught myself asking the same question, just as confused. That was a total flip of expressions that Kakashi just pulled.

"You. Pass." He smiled every so innocently.

"Pass?" Sakura was the first to regain her senses. "But why?"

"You three are the first. Everyone else would just do what I told them," explained Kakashi. "They were all just morons. A ninja must see underneath the underneath. The ones who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are called trash… but, those who don't take care of their friends are lower than trash."

I blinked at Kakashi's back. _Wow, that was really cool_. I suddenly felt very warm inside and I smiled, happy for the three. They didn't fail after all.

"That ends the training," Kakashi announced and gave a thumbs up. "You all pass! Starting tomorrow, Team Seven will begin its duties!"

"**Yeah! **Ninja! Ninja! I'm a ninja!" Naruto squealed with joy.

"All right, lets go—come on Memori." Kakashi led the way, Sakura and Sasuke following behind.

"Hey! **HEY!** Ah, I knew you'd do this! Come back here and untie me!!" Lucky for Naruto, I knew it would happen too and made my way around to untie him. When he found he was free he seemed a bit lost at first, until he saw me. By the look across his face, he must have forgotten I was there but no matter, it's not like I expected us to be best friends or anything. "Thanks, Memori."

Naruto raced after his teacher and teammates, giving them an ear full on how rude they were. I followed along behind, feeling a bit out of place watching Sakura beat Naruto over the head and tell him to 'shut up.' None the less, I was glad I tagged along to witness this. I had fun and learned a few things, even if I was hardly noticed.


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay, so I'll be back in a couple of hours. Here's my wallet," Kakashi dropped a small pouch into my hands. I felt a little awkward about just taking his wallet and tried to offer to just take a little money, instead of his entire account. "Just use what you need. But don't go crazy or anything. Try to stay on this street, don't go anywhere else."

"All right…" With that Kakashi sprang off, leaving me in the marketing area of Konoha.

It's been about a week or so since I last saw the Genin and I wondered how their missions were going. I spent most of the time in my room, absorbing information out of books that Kakashi had lent me such as: _Chakara Fundamentals_, _The Concepts of Jutsus: A study on Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu_ and others that I had yet to make any sense of. I attempted a few jutsus here and there but only managed to achieve one: a fire jutsu, which wasn't all that great, just a spark of what is should be. Although, that small spark was enough to set my sheets on fire. That was an embarrassing moment as I stupidly flung myself onto the flame in attempt to snuff it out, only in resulting in burning my hands. Kakashi only laughed when I dragged out my burnt through sheets and inflamed palms.

Kakashi had said I wasn't aloud to go anywhere on my own, or leave areas assigned to me without him accompanying me. He wouldn't give me an explanation, no matter how much I questioned him. Maybe he figured I was a troublemaker or something? Honestly, I'm not that desperate for attention. So here I was, somewhere in the mid afternoon, people bustling in and out of shops going about their daily errands with bandages wrapped about my hands.

I glanced around, trying to decide where to go first, trying not to look totally pathetic. Pocketing Kakashi's wallet, I decided the most logical start would be to find some clothes. I made my way forward into the store ahead of me which displayed clothing in the windows so I only assumed that's what they sold. I did my absolute best to keep out of people's ways, dodging hurried people and moving around villagers that gave me a curious look. I'm not sure why I wanted to be so unnoticed in such a crowd. I didn't want to interrupt anyone's day with my presence because I couldn't keep that thought from the front of my mind: I'm not an original member of this village. I don't belong in Konoha…

I browsed my way into the store, halting every once in a while to observe anything that caught my eye. I paid very close attention to my likes and dislikes, to learn more about myself and if anything can arose a memory before Konoha. Apparently I walked into a popular store because there were a lot of people weaving in and out of racks of clothing. I felt a little crowded and decided I would come back later and took my leave.

That's about when someone called my name for the first time since Sarutobi.

"Memori!" I halted just outside the store and turned to the source of the call. It was Sakura, her candy pink colored hair catching my eye in an instant.

"Oh, hi," I smiled in a greeting sort of way, relived it was someone I already met. "Didn't you have a mission today?"

"Oh, no, today's our day off. Thank God though," she gave an exasperated sigh. "Naruto is _so_ annoying. I think the only reason I wake up in the morning is for Sasuke-kun!" She finished by squealing which made me flinch in disgust that somehow went unnoticed by her. "Anyway, if you don't have anything to do, want to shop with me?"

"Um, okay," I paused a moment, glancing off embarrassingly trying to explain that I couldn't leave this street without Kakashi. "But… I have to say in this area, so Kakashi can find me easier." _God, I feel like an idiot!_

Sakura tilted her head in confusement but shrugged it off. "Okay, no problem. Is there anything specific your looking for?" Sakura began to walk further down the street and I followed after her, trying to hide my bandaged hands in my pockets as to not arouse suspicion.

"I need a few outfits. Stuff like that."

Sakura gave my tattered look a glance then nodded. "All right! I know the perfect place! This way!" She suddenly grasped hold of my wrist and tugged me down the street, making a b-line to a shop crowded with people.

I grimaced not wanting to go in, but Sakura pulled me through. She guided me to shelf to rack to shelf, holding up different assortments of tops and bottoms to me. Sakura loved to shop apparently and I just stumbled after her, trying to keep up with her sudden burst of energy. I think we spent almost two and a half an hour in there and went through every piece of clothing they had. Sakura talked so fast that I couldn't even get more than a one worded response in half the time. She went on and on about how Sasuke was the God of her realm, Naruto was an annoying midget and Kakashi needs to learn to be responsible and not lazy. In the end, I left the shop with two large paper bags in either hand (much to the displeasure of the burns) filled with pants, shirts, shoes/sandals, underwear, and feminine items. I noticed I was partial to darker colors with some reds and greens. Sakura must have had at least double the amount I had and it was all pink. I had decided that this girl really exhausts me.

"Phew! Well, that was fun, don't you think?" Sakura still had energy to spare, where as I felt I left my energy somewhere in the thousands of merchandise I just went through.

Sakura gasped glancing across the way, her attention searing. I blinked at her in question, wondering what was so interesting and looked forward to find what she was looking at. I followed the trail of her eyes but from where I was standing, it looked like she was staring at a candy store? _She must really like candy or some—_

"Come on Memori! Let's get some chocolate!" She grabbed my hand and I flinched as pain erupted along the burnt marks but Sakura was in such a hurry she didn't notice. Before I had time to blink, I was dragged across the street to the front of the candy store. "Sasuke-kun!"

The said boy halted at the shout of his name, who just so happened to be passing the candy store. He turned his annoyed expression onto Sakura, his hands in his pockets, giving off an attitude. _Oh, so that's what she was staring at. And here I thought she was a Candy Fanatic. Nope, just a Sasuke Fanatic._ I giggled to myself over my mental comment which Sakura took the wrong way, thinking I was probably laughing at her. She snapped a glare at me and Sasuke turned his attention on me. I stopped my giggling and looked at him straight in the eye which probably made him feel uncomfortable because he quickly looked down to pretend he had interest in what I bought. Instead, Sasuke actually did find something interesting: my bandaged covered hands.

"What happened to your hands?"

I lifted a hand, taking the bag of merchandise up along with the motion and looked too, as if I didn't know. Sakura now noticed as well, dropping her sudden hate for me for getting attention from her God.

"Oh. No big deal, I just burnt them trying to do a fire jutsu," I grinned, dropping my arm back to my side, letting the straps to the bag dangle gently against my fingers. Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, interested in hearing more about this attempt, but kept his comments to himself.

"Oh no, I didn't even notice! You shouldn't be carrying those then," Sakura shuffled her feet, embarrassed for not catching that I had a handicap.

"No, I'm okay. I said it's no big deal, I'm fine." I felt a little embarrassed myself, being fretted over like that.

"Here, give me those." Sasuke reached out, grasping hold of the bag in my right hand. I protested, trying to explain that I was fine but he gave it a tug, releasing it from my grip and took the other one as well.

I sighed, seeing as I won't win and had to give up. Although, my hands halted its throbbing complaining and I felt less agitated. It took every once of energy I had not to look at Sakura, who might kill me with the look of rage she was sending me. Again, I stole Sasuke's attention from her. "You don't have to…"

"I know I don't. But I don't have anything else to do, so just shut up and deal with it." I glared at Sasuke for that remark. What an _ass_!

A few minutes passed and silence was shared. I glanced from between Sasuke and Sakura, wondering why no one was talking. Well, I knew that Sasuke was probably like Kakashi: not very talkative and he just kind of stood there with my belongings, as if waiting for me to give him an order… or something. But Sakura seemed so determined to stare at Sasuke, that I guess she didn't have time to say anything.

I fidgeted a little, my eyes darting around for a subject to talk about. My eyes stopped on the candy shop door beyond Sasuke. "You guys want to get some candy?"

"Sure! That sounds a great way to end our shopping spree," Sakura found her voice again and started for the candy shop. I followed after her, sighing with relief, Sasuke taking up the rear.  
I wandered about the shelves in the candy store enjoying my small break from Sakura. She had glued herself to Sasuke and proceeded to drag him about the chocolate section. There were a lot of candies I had never seen before but then again, having no memory all of them seemed unfamiliar. But I kept looking, hoping something would spark in my memory. I mean, I was a little kid at one point right? I had to have liked something sweet.  
"Memori! Over here, lets get some cakes and tea!"

I dropped my interest over the chocolate covered pretzels and made my way through the crowds to meet up with Sakura and Sasuke at a table. I sat down across from Sasuke and you could only guess where Sakura sat. I bet if she could, she would sit in his lap. Only a moron would have not noticed that Sakura has a complete crush on Sasuke but I had to ask out loud.  
"Sakura? Do you like Sasuke or something?" Apparently, you aren't supposed to ask those things because Sakura proceeded to choke and gag on her tea and Sasuke crossed his arms and turned his head away completely annoyed now. If Sakura had the ability to shoot daggers from her eyes, I'd probably be a pincushion by now. "Sorry…" I guess I'm still not good at this whole communication thing.  
Luckily, the ordered individual cakes arrived and Sakura was distracted long enough to forget her seething hate for me. Sasuke declared that he didn't like sweets and rather harshly turned down Sakura's offer to buy him some. One of the workers from the shop brought my small chocolate cake drizzled in cherry sauce that I had ordered. When I was reading the menu it sounded good but now that it was in front me it looked anything but appetizing. Maybe I didn't like sweets either? But I didn't want to send Sakura into another glare frenzy so I just stayed quiet and drank the rest of my tea. But something odd started to happen. As I studied the cake that sat so quietly in front of me, I began to remember something. But I couldn't make any sense of what it was. Something about the dark colors of the chocolate and the red of the cherry suddenly melted into a pair of eyes that stared back into my own. I couldn't move, I didn't know what to make of it. One second I was in the candy shop and now I was confronting this figure. I wanted it to stop. My heart pounded heavily in my chest and for a second I thought my lungs failed on me. I shut my eyes as tight as I could. I wanted to run away but the rest of my body wouldn't comply.


	6. Chapter 6

"…happened. Perhaps all the excitement downtown was too much."

"Perhaps. Memori, welcome back."

When I reopened my eyes, I was staring up into the face that I had missed very much: Sarutobi. Two other faces joined in around me and I recognized them as Sakura and Kakashi. I made to reply but a sudden grogginess fell onto me and a ringing in my ears blurred my vision. My head was pounding, but why? "What happened..?"

"We were at the candy shop and you just suddenly collapsed! You scared us, Memori!" Sakura's eyebrows met in a worried frown. Why was she so upset about me? I thought she didn't like me. "After you fainted, Sasuke ran to find Kakashi and then he went and got Hokage-sama."

I forced myself to sit up despite the dizziness that threatened to send me toppling over again. I noticed that I was back 'home,' sitting on the living room couch. Sakura stood just on the other side of the coffee table and Sasuke lingered by the doorframe. Kakashi and Sarutobi kept one hand on either of my shoulders to keep me steady.

"Do you remember anything that happened before you passed out Memori?" Sarutobi's face seemed to have aged from the worry he had over me. I tried to remember but my memory was still keeping things from me. When I didn't reply, Sarutobi gave me a pat on the back and rose to his feet. "Well, it was a long day. Memori, you should get some rest. I have to return to my desk. Kakashi, I leave her to you."

Kakashi gave a slight bow and Sarutobi made his way to the door. But I didn't want him to go. "Wait..!" I met a lot of people these past several weeks but he was the only one I felt comfortable around. If he couldn't stay, I wanted to go with him. In the time I realized this, I had ran to him and wrapped my arms around his waist in a hug. I didn't want him to leave me behind again. "Don't go…"

Sarutobi smiled and twisted himself around in my hug to hug back as tight as he could. "Memori, I know it's hard but you must be strong. Besides, you have some new friends. I'm sure Sakura and Sasuke will keep you company when Kakashi isn't around." I doubted that. Sakura was a handful to be around with. She was either upset or extremely happy and that just planed confused me half the time. And Sasuke didn't seem the social type at all. I think it took every nerve in him to stay in the same oxygen supply as me. "So cheer up, Memori! You'll find your niche, I'm sure."

And even with my pleas, Sarutobi left. Silence crept into the apartment but all I could do was stare at the floor. Sakura was the first to shake me from my depression. She took hold of my hand, being rather gentle and led me to my room.

"Come on Memori. Let's put your new clothes away." I followed after her and glanced down the hallway. Sasuke and Kakashi started to have a small conversation which was shortly lived after the younger one abruptly turned away to leave. Oh, that's right. I never said 'thank you' to Sasuke for carrying my things for me.

Sakura reached into the bags that sat at the end of my bed and began pulling out assortments of shirts and pants, shaking out the wrinkles. I stood there for a moment not sure what I should be doing. I didn't think after her death rays she was sending me earlier that she'd be in my room helping me. "Sakura… I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sakura smiled, placing a stack of clothing in the top most drawer of my bedroom dresser.

"For asking you if you liked Sasuke." I felt stupid again.

"Oh yeah, that. Haha," she laughed nervously. "Well, don't be! I do like him… a lot. But, well questions like you asked are not supposed to be asked in public. They're supposed to be a secret."

"Why?" Now I was confused. If you like someone, why keep it a secret and not let them know?

"You really don't understand anything do you?" Sakura crossed her arms and gave me a rather pitying look. I looked away and drove my attention into unloading my new belongings from their paper bags. Anything to not make eye contact with such a look. "Actually… I'm really jealous of you, Memori."  
"Huh? What for?"

"You're really pretty. And Sasuke carried your bags for you. He'd never do that for me. You're also not afraid of anything."

_Well, maybe if you weren't so high strong…_ "Don't be jealous of me." I tried suppress a smile, but failed. Someone was actually jealous of me? Jealous of someone who can't even remember right from wrong? And I do fear. I fear the emptiness of being alone, of not knowing who I really am.

The tension between us lessened over time. Sakura spent most of the time talking and ranting about her daily life while I just listened. So far I think that's the only thing I'm good for. Another thing I figured out is that Sakura acted differently around Sasuke. She didn't act like herself but when she sat with me in my room and talked, she seemed much more relaxed, much more real. As if she could finally breathe. I began to enjoy Sakura's company. I began to enjoy the company of another girl my age. We talked about boys, hairstyles, clothes, all the subjects I assumed a normal teenage girl would talk about—well actually, Sakura did all the talking. Before I knew it, time flew by and Sakura had to take her leave.

"Well, Memori. I had fun today! Despite your fainting and all…" I smiled. "I hope you enjoy your new outfits. How long do you think you're going to be staying in Konoha?"

My thoughts screeched to a halt. How long would time allow me to stay here? After all, Konoha isn't my home… "Um, I'm not sure." I suddenly felt really uncomfortable. Why would she ask me that?

"Well, maybe we can hang out tomorrow right?" I nodded just to agree. "Okay then, bye Memori!" I walked her to the door and then she was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

I awoke the next morning to a racket that could have probably wakened the dead. Hundreds of voices echoed in my eardrums, some yelling others whispering. I tried to block out the noise by stuffing my head under my pillow but no matter what I did, the voices only seemed to get louder. Finally having enough of it, I stumbled out of bed and headed for the living room. Kakashi must be having some sort of party or something and by the sounds of it the whole village was invited. But, when I entered the living room there was no one there. Nothing. Not even Kakashi himself. Once I realized this the voices suddenly stopped and I was left standing in the quiet of Kakashi's apartment. I listened intently to see if I could hear anything more but all I could pick up was the slow ticking of the kitchen clock.

I frowned at myself. Perhaps I imagined it all? Whatever it was, I shrugged it off and got ready for the day. I decided that I would wear a pair of my new blue jeans and sandals as well as a red sweatshirt with the number seven imprinted on the front and back in black. It was my favorite top out of all that I bought, but I wasn't sure why. While I was making myself breakfast, I found a note in Kakashi's hurried handwriting on the fridge. Apparently, he was going to be gone for a few days on an escort mission with Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. I whispered 'good luck' out loud even though I knew it was impossible for them to receive the message but I would have liked to see them off. Kakashi hadn't said whether it was okay to leave the apartment or not in his note. I didn't want to get myself into more trouble than I did yesterday so I kept to the books I had been reading. This took up most of my day and I had managed to finish reading _Chakra Control_. I think I understood most of if but a lot of the material required personal experience, of which I didn't have—at least, I didn't think I had.

"Man, I'm bored…" I know I wasn't supposed to go anywhere without permission, but every nerve in my being wanted to be outside.

So, knowing that I might be breaking some sort of rule, I gathered up my books and headed outside. Once the warm afternoon sun hit my face I felt a whole lot better. I spent a few hours wandering around Konoha and timidly observing the areas I hadn't visited yet. I mentally made up an excuse in my head that the reason why I was snooping around was to find a good spot in the sun to finish reading. As the day wore on, I started to think that no one would be too upset that I was out on my own and took more risks in exploring the area.

I wasn't really watching where I was going as I tilted my head up to gaze in amazement at the mountain that had sculpted faces in them-- one looked very much like Sarutobi. I didn't realize I was about to bump myself into someone until it was too late. Well, it was hard to say who bumped into who because the boy that zoomed by was moving so fast that he was nearly a yard away before he came skidding to a halt. I grumbled to himself, bending over to pick up my books when a hand reached out to help. I looked up to find the boy had come back and he stared with a such a glow in his eyes it made me flinch back in surprise.

"I'm so sorry! I did not see you! Are you okay?" The boy had such large eyebrows and he looked… very eccentric in his leaf green attire. "My names Rock Lee! What's yours?"

"Memori…" I fumbled a little, averting my eyes as to not stare.

"Lee! Be a gentleman and carry those books as an apology!" A second person arrived and he had to be some older version of Lee. This person must be on the same rank as Kakashi because of the green vest he wore. But comparing this odd looking fellow to Kakashi might be an insult to the latter.

Lee snapped to attention and quickly snatched up what books were in my arms. "Of course, Gai-sensei!"

Gai took a few paces closer and I instinctively leaned away but it went unnoticed by the grinning man. "So, you're Memori are you? I've heard a lot about you from Kakashi."

"You know Kakashi?" I looked up at Gai in thought.

My question was quickly waved aside as Gai took notice of the titles of books I had that were now in Lee's possession. "Ah! Studying are we? Well, so are we! We're about to go meet the rest of our team to train a bit, would you like to come for some pointers?" Gai lifted a hand to place on my head and grinned wide.

I sort of felt like I had no choice really. The two of them were grinning to big and Lee's eyes kept sparkling that I didn't think the answer 'no' would be suitable. So, I followed the matching pair to a more spacious area of Konoha where two others were waiting. A girl stood facing a spiraled target of which had several pointed weapons embedded into it. She turned about at our approach and sighed, diving into a lecture about how the next time they decide to challenge one another to save it after their training hour. I glanced around to the second boy who I found to my surprise, was staring back with intense light colored eyes. His gaze felt piercing, like he could see every detail of me and I couldn't stop the blush rising in my cheeks. I turned my head away as Gai introduced me to the other two. I learned the boy's name to be Hyuuga Neji and the girl to be Tenten. I smiled and gave a slight bow in greeting of which was only returned by Tenten.

"Memori-chan! Over here." Lee beckoned me forward to the tree where he placed my books with a grin. "Gai-sensei said that we could finish the day by teaching you a few things! So feel excited Memori!" I tilted my head in a smile. I felt like there was no way I could be as happy and excited as Lee.

"Pff. Do we really have to waste our time?" Neji wandered over along with Tenten. I glanced around and for some reason could not locate Gai. Where did he go? "You're name's Memori?" I nodded and Neji gave me that calculating look again that I couldn't meet with my own timid one.  
"Hey. Be nice, Neji. And Lee, stop crowding her! You're going to freak her out." Tenten smiled at me and I felt a little better as long as she was around. Other two seem so high strong that if it was just them, I think I might crumble between them. "So, before we start, tell us what you know first, Memori." It was a little hard to explain, but I told them that my knowledge goes as far as what I read in my books. Tenten hummed in thought for a moment. "So, you just need personal experience now. We can help with that."

Before I knew just what was in store for me, I was facing Lee in an awkward defensive position that Tenten had put me in. The whole idea of me even raising a fist to anyone was weird and I was little bit scared. But, surprisingly, Lee and Tenten were very good teachers. They started out slow so I could follow and copy Lee's basic blocks and attacks. Sometimes I'd just feel silly and start laughing when I make a mistake and it was contagious enough to make the other two laugh as well. I was having fun acting out the illustrations I saw in my books. And I was happy to know that Lee and Tenten were having just as much fun as I was.

"You're really good at this Memori-chan!" Lee grinned as I blocked another soft yet quick punch. Over the course of the day, I could tell Lee was enjoying 'sparring' with me more than I was. That sparkling grin never left.

"Yeah, you learn fast." Tenten observed from the sidelines, often giving out pointers when needed.

Lee had quickened his pace over the last twenty minutes and was now on the offensive side while I took up the defense. It was an odd feeling, sparing. No matter where Lee moved to attack I always knew what arm to lift, what leg to lean on. Perhaps I've done this before? It could be a possibility and I was curious to how much my instinct—or my hidden memories—would reveal if Lee was fighting seriously. I was willing to take a risk.

"Lee? Could you fight me with your normal speed?"

Lee paused a moment and blinked. He looked to Tenten for some sort of answer as if he wasn't sure how to respond but when nothing came but a shrug, he stuttered shyly. "Uh, well. I don't think that would be a good idea. I mean, uh…"

"I'll fight you seriously."

I blinked around to find the owner of the voice. Neji stood from his seat under the tree and approached. I thought he got bored and left but apparently he stuck around. Why, I wasn't sure. He took his place and spread his feet apart in a very unique stance, palms out, ready to defend.


	8. Chapter 8

"Wait a second Neji!" Tenten made to interrupt but stopped herself short when she spotted my own stance in response. "Wait! I don't think you're ready yet, Memori!"

"Tenten's right, Memori-chan. Neji! Show some respect!" Lee frowned at his teammate over how arrogantly and ungentlemanly he was challenging me.

"It's okay. I think I'll be alright." That's what my heart was telling me anyway. I still had no idea what I was doing though. But at this point, those sharp eyes that were staring back at me told me there was no way to back out now.

Neji was the first to make a move. He bolted forward and the speed he used caused me to yelp and stumble back. He was serious as his palm came in to make contact but his arm was slower than his steps as if he was testing my own speed. I ducked out of the way and put on a defense against his swipes and kicks backing myself up around the courtyard. Very quickly he started to pick up his pace and I could feel his fingers brush past my arms as I evaded and blocked. I could do nothing else. There was no room for attack and Neji seemed to keep it that way. It was a wonder to even myself how I'm even putting up a defense against him. It was just like with Lee only at a sporadic rate. I could guess at a ninety-percent accuracy of where he was going to attack next but it only occurred randomly.

Neji frowned as he notably caught sight of something strange. He was being as different and spontaneous as possible yet his attacks were still blocked and evaded. It was true, he wasn't totally using as much force as he could. This spar was to test something he caught while Memori spared with Lee. It was almost as if…

I gave a slight yelp as I noticed the change in Neji's eyes. The muscles around his eyes stiffened and I could almost feel those chakra seeing pupils gaze over and through me. It was enough of a surprise to send my concentration reeling and Neji landed his palm on my chest, sending me to the ground with a thud. Neji halted and stepped out of formation, the spar over. I groaned and lifted myself to sit up, rubbing the point below my collar bone where the final blow landed. Lee ran over to help me up fretting like a mother hen and Tenten rounded on Neji and started to tell him that he should have been a little more gentle. However, Neji ignored this and kept his chakra seeing gaze locked on my own.

"You said you never fought anyone before now?" Confused, I nodded wondering just what was going on through Neji's head. Neji's brow creased as he glared at me in thought. "Tell me… can you guess what I'm thinking right now?"

Tenten and Lee were also now just as confused at I was but the boy was determined to hear an answer. I thought about for a moment as I stared into those pulsating pupils. I searched and searched my thoughts for something that stood out, something he might be thinking and then parted my lips for a response. "You think I can read minds…?"

Nothing really important was said after that odd response that came spilling out my mouth. Tenten blinked then started laughing followed by Lee's comforting pat on my back and his own wild giggle. But Neji never laughed and kept staring. The sun was starting to set and I had to part ways from the group. Lee offered to walk me home despite our lodging was in a completely different direction and I politely declined. No need to go out of the way for me.

"Alright, well, g'night Memori, see you later," waved Tenten.

"Yeah! We'll teach some more stuff tomorrow, how about that?" Lee grinned. Neji had already left and I felt relieved to get out from his piercing gaze.

"Sure. That would be great," I smiled.

"Lee, we have a mission tomorrow, remember?"

"Oh, right… then when we get back?"

I nodded in agreement and we parted ways. I couldn't rid myself of the smile on my face as I walked myself back to the empty apartment across Konoha. I met three new people today and was happy to find that we got along very well. I couldn't wait for our next meeting. And as odd as I felt the whole time I was around him, I also couldn't wait to see Neji again too. Happiness boiled inside me.

I stopped in my path home to find myself distracted by something. I couldn't really place what it was but as I looked up the long staircase that led to the top of the sculpted mountain, something was pulling me towards it. It was already growing dark and I knew I probably pushed the rules of staying inside to the limit but the feeling I had overpowered the will to obey any such rules and I started the climb up those stairs. The higher I climbed, the more I was captivated by the glittering village below. Street lanterns and house lamps slowly started to illuminate the city in a wash of yellow that caused a tingly warmth to grow in the pit of my stomach. Even in darkness, Konoha shone brighter than the stars. I felt like I could stand up on top of that mountain forever. Or, at lest until sleep overcame my tired limbs.

A chuckle interrupted my attempt to stifle a yawn and I found myself looking up at the calming eyes of Sarutobi. The Hokage smiled down as he joined me in the view. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?"

A flush of red tinted my cheeks. "Ah! I-I didn't know you were up here, Sarutobi-samma. I actually don't know what brought me up here anyway."

Sarutobi wrapped his aged fingers around one shoulder and leaned me in for a hug. I smiled at the warm affection and hugged him back. "I missed you too, Memori. Have you been getting along okay? No more faint spells, right?'

"Yeah. Rock Lee and his friends showed me some taijutsu today."

"They did? How fun. I'm glad you found some friends."

Sarutobi trailed off and didn't say anything else for sometime. I glanced up at him and watched him stare out over Konoha with eyes full of thought. "Sarutobi-samma? What's wrong?" He glanced down and for a second my heart caught itself in my throat. Sarutobi was frowning with a deep concern and I couldn't place where it was coming from.

But soon after he smiled and knotted up my hair teasingly. I laughed and swatted at his tickling hands. "You need to go to bed miss! Come on, I'll walk you back home."

"Hehe, okay."


	9. Chapter 9

Even now, I don't believe I could explain what exactly triggered them but they started the night I met Sarutobi on top of the Hokage Monument. Nightmares haunted my dreams nearly every night. Most of the time, I couldn't remember what exactly was being dreamt and woke in a cold sweat. But others, I could remember seeing cloaked men and burning buildings. Sometimes they never made sense. Like bits and pieces of different frames from a movie all muddled in a confusing jumble. I'd see glimpses of a great and angry monster in a glow of red. I'd see those pairs of red spiraled eyes and sometimes I'd see ice. Lot's of ice and I couldn't find an explanation as to where it was all coming from.

It couldn't be the books I was reading or that television show that Tenten had me watch at her house the other day. I convinced myself it must have been something I have been eating. Perhaps eating ramen every night before bed was a bad idea but sandwiches get boring real fast and there wasn't much else to eat. Other than that, the last week went on slowly. I did get to visit Lee, Tenten and Neji again and they started to make all the stuff I read in my books come together. Things started to make sense until Neji tried explaining how to gather my chakra as certain points in my body (such as the sole of my feet). Neji was never the greatest at trying to teach me anything. I've decided he's the kind of teacher that would rather punch the information into me. I sighed and turned the page of _The Way of the Ninja,_ boredly scanning the lettering along the page, not really absorbing anything. After reading this book two times already, it got sort of numbing to read any of it at all. Today wasn't really a reading-kind of day.

I twitched and lifted my eyes to stare at the front door bringing myself back to the present. I had thought I distinctively heard Kakashi's voice. I strained my hearing as far as it could go but the sound must have been just my imagination so I shook the thought away. Perhaps I missed the silver hair man that was never around. I heaved another drawn out sigh and started to return to my book when a jingle of keys and the turning of the front door's knob caught my attention. In walked Kakashi who also looked noticeably surprised, seeing my presence there on his couch surrounded by books (Tenten showed me the library). I hesitated a moment and we sort of just stared at each other. Then I grinned and sprang to my feet, wrapping my arms around Kakashi in a welcoming hug. The other stumbled and stuttered uncomfortably, not used to the sudden burst of affection.

"Welcome home, Kakashi-sensei!"

He chuckled. "Well, that's new. Thank you. Did you behave yourself while I was gone?"

"Um… yes!" I withdrew myself from him and placed my arms around my back to conceal my crossed fingers. Of course it didn't fool Kakashi, but instead of thinking up something to say in response, he just dismissed it and disappeared down the hall to unload his things. I sat myself back on the couch and attempted to organize the mess of books around the coffee table. "How did the mission go? You guys were gone a long time. How did Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke do?"

"It was tiring," called Kakashi from somewhere in the back room. "Naruto couldn't stop asking about you actually."

My fingers halted at their workings on a book cover and I could feel that flush of heat rise in my cheeks again. "Why?"

Kakashi walked back out and made his way into the kitchen, his green vest gone from his back. "Just curious, I guess." I hadn't realized he stopped short outside the kitchen's doorframe to catch my blush. "Why don't you go visit them? They should be still at Ichiraku."

"Huh?" I whirled around to face Kakashi. "I can't do that! They must be tired, I shouldn't bother them…"

"Nah, they're fine. Go on. They'll be happy to see a friend from home."

After much debating in ways to get out of it, Kakashi ended up winning and I was on my way down the street to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop. I had to admit I was actually very nervous to see the three again. I couldn't explain why but the butterflies that wiggled around in the pit of my stomach wouldn't leave me be. They just seem to get worse when Ichiraku's colorful banners jumped out at me around the corner. Even though it's only been a few weeks since I saw them, it felt like a decade. I swallowed at the lump in my throat, hoping that this time around I'll have more to say than a few words and ducked myself into the steaming shop. And there they were. Naruto and Sasuke sat on either side of Sakura while the pink haired shinobi fawned over the more stoic one of the group. I grinned and pulled myself up beside Naruto who turned his desperate attempt to get Sakura's attention to me.

"Memori-chan!" Naruto's face lit up. Sakura smiled and Sasuke merely stared as uninterested as ever.

"Hey Naruto. Sakura, Sasuke. Welcome home."

"How did you know we were back already?" Naruto tilted his head.

"Kakashi," mumbled Sasuke and he returned to his bowl of half eaten ramen.

Realization and remembrance dawned on the blonde's face. I laughed and swung an arm around Naruto's shoulders in a sort of hug. Sakura started laughing as well but more at the flush of embarrassment across that whiskered face. Sasuke snickered which only received Naruto's flailing insults. I noticed that the two boys were acting rather unusual than, well, usual. They were arguing a lot more than before and gave each other the most ridiculous faces that either could muster. But that just means they're really close friends right? When I asked Tenten why Lee and Neji fought all the time she said just that. _Because they're close friends_. Then it must be the same with Naruto and Sasuke. After the two of them settled down with Sakura's threats involved I wondered what they're mission was like. They held themselves in a different way. They've changed.

"May I ask a question?"

Blue, green and dark eyes fell on me. "Sure, what is it?" Sakura leaned forward to see pass Naruto.

"How did your mission go?"

At first, no one said anything and Naruto and Sasuke gave a hateful glare to the other before disregarding each other completely. It took a moment, but Sakura was the first to explain just what happened in the Country of the Wave. Seems like their mere escorting mission turned out to be much more. Naruto only dived in when it concerned the battle between their team and a man named Zabuza. It sounded as though this Zabuza character was tough for even Kakashi and I raised my eyebrows at that in surprise. Kakashi didn't fit as a person to struggle in anything.

Team Seven had a difficult mission. I soaked in every word that was said. Sasuke didn't say much but I did notice he was watching for any change in expression on my part. It didn't bother me at this point. After getting such intense studying stares from Neji, you get used to any stare. Naruto talked about a boy named Haku who, to his description, sounded familiar to me. Ice? That sounded much like the nightmare I had a few days ago. But, it could be just some coincidence and nothing more so I didn't give it anymore thought.

"So, how did the fight with those two assassins end?" Naruto and Sasuke traded hateful glares.

"Well," Sakura tried to start. "Haku jumped out in front of Kakashi at the last second to save Zabuza and took a fatal hit." I frowned. How sad, they had to watch someone die. "Then Gato came to attack us while we were tired but then the people of village came to our aide and we won!" Sakura smiled but it wasn't a real smile at all. One of her nervous ones.

"Hm. Well, I'm glad all of you came home safely."

"Thanks Memori."

"Hey Sakura-chan! Want to go on a date?"

Sakura frowned at Naruto. Sasuke was sliding from his chair intent on slipping away quietly but I wouldn't have that. So, while Sakura was busy bullying Naruto, I moved over to step in his way.

"Hey, Sasuke."

"What is it?" He creased his brow a little.

"Don't push yourself to hard okay?"

Sasuke blinked, an expression of surprise filling his face and I had to hold down a giggle. It was nice to see something other than a scowl. He shuffled his feet obviously annoyed at the fact that he let emotion leak out and ambled past me, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Yeah. See you around, Memori."

"Bye Sasuke." I waved at his back, smiling.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whirled around to notice the love of her life was missing. "Oh no! I was going to ask if he'd go on a date with me…"

"Naruto said he would with you," I turned to face Sakura who turned red in annoyance over my comment.

"I don't want to go out with Naruto!" Sakura placed her hands on her hips.

"Hey, I'm right here."

"Well, I'm beat, I'm going to go home I guess. Talk to you later Memori!" And without so much as a wave to the blond beside her, she took off.

"Man…" Naruto sulked in his own defeat, his eyes curved like a fox.

"Hey Naru?" Naruto looked up at the odd abbreviation of his name. I smiled at him. "Is it okay if I hang out with you? I know I'm not Sakura but—"

Naruto rose out of his sulking state and grinned from ear to ear suddenly bright as the sun. Memori was asking him out on a date! "Yeah! That would be great!"

So, I spent the rest of the day with the Noisy Ninja of Konoha. Naruto had a contagious laugh. I found myself laughing at nothing in particular. Just being around him made you want to. He asked about how I've been doing and I told him that I've been learning about chakra and taijutsu from Lee, Tenten and Neji. He was interested in what I learned. It wasn't much but I showed him and explained what I knew. Then, a thought dawned on me later on that evening.

"Hey, Naru? Remember when you made a bunch of clones during Kakashi's first training exercise?" Naruto tilted his head, trying to remember. "They day I first met you?"

"Oh! Yeah, the shadow clone jutsu. What about it?"

"Could you teach me how to do that?"

Naruto's face flushed a deep red and he looked away thoroughly embarrassed. He laughed to himself as an outlet. "Sure! But it's pretty hard to learn."

I smiled in turn which only seem to put Naruto into a more of a blush frenzy. It made me laugh and I swatted my hand on his back to knock him out of his embarrassment. Naruto started laughing and then suddenly caught himself.

"Oh yeah, Memori. Have you remembered anything about… you know, your past?"

I frowned in thought going over the nightmares I've been having lately. "Well… I've been having weird nightmares." And I went through the small details that I could remember. I told him about the monster in red that I saw and about some cloaked men. "Other than that, nothing yet."

"Oh. Well, I hope you remember soon."

"No. I actually don't think I want to remember." Naruto stared at me in wonder as if to ask why. "I think whatever it is that erased my memory is something I don't want to remember. With all these nightmares, I'm almost scared to remember." I fidgeted with my fingers, staring at my lap. I was scared.

Naruto hummed in thought. "Don't worry Memori. Whatever happens, I'll help you out for sure!"

Naruto's grin made me feel safe and that he would do anything to help me. I believed that. "Thank you Naruto. And I'll help you become Hokage."

"It's a deal then."


	10. Chapter 10

I just want to take a point to thank EVERYONE who has stuck with me this far in this story. You all are my inspiration and my motivation to keep writing. Now ten chapters in, thank you all so much.

Asuka

* * *

_Where am I?_ A screamed pierced the air as if to respond and I found myself running in the direction of the sound. Intent on getting there first. My hands brushed over cracked foundations and the smell of something sour hung in the air. My knees shook and my heart pounded a dent into my chest. My mouth was dry and no matter how much I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat in only seemed to grow bigger. The shadowed alley came to a sudden end and I stumbled out into an open street. I found the source of the smell. Bodies. Each corpse lay mangled and soaked in their own blood, their mouths gaped and dry. The dead littered the pavement. My heart caught itself in my throat at the sight and I wanted to scream but fear stilled my voice. The sky was dark, the moon red with the murder. All I could do was stand there. Stand there while strength left my legs. Hot tears over the dead that lied at my feet stung my eyes and ran down flushed cheeks. Everyone was dead.

A firm hand placed itself on my shoulder and shook me. I recoiled at the touch, fear driving my instincts to get away from whoever owned that hand. I screamed and sat up, swatting at the man that wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace, in attempt to calm me. There was no calming. Everyone was dead!

"Memori! Memori, it's me!"

Kakashi's voice shook me back into my own room and I opened my eyes. My heart was beating so fast I was sure my chest would crack under the pressure. I strained my lungs to take in air but all I got was short painful stabs of oxygen between gasps. I couldn't see past the tears in my eyes but I could somehow tell it was dark and quiet beside my sobs and Kakashi's calming voice. My trembling hands grasped onto Kakashi's front. Seeking protection to whatever that was.

"It's okay. I got you. You're alright."

Kakashi pulled me up from the bed and carried me out of my room. He kept talking to me but I couldn't understand what he was saying. The only think I could think about was what I saw. Even if it was just a nightmare, my whole body ached and recoiled as if it was real. I couldn't stop myself from trembling and squeezing the handfuls of Kakashi's shirt as tight as I could. Clinging to the one thing I knew was real.

"It's okay Memori. It's okay." She was shaking like a leaf in his arms, wrecked with tremors. Kakashi had woken up in the middle of the night to Memori screaming. Even as he reached out to wake her, she turned away as if he himself was what was causing her nightmare. For a moment he was scared. Scared that the nightmare might be real enough to shatter her fragile mind. He didn't know what to do. All he could do was force her to wake up and hope doing just that won't damage her any more than she already was. Kakashi pounded a fist on the Hokage Manor's double doors. It was late and everyone should be in bed but a guard opened the door to meet him and allow him entry. No sooner was the Third called and he rushed into the office with a cowering Memori latched onto Kakashi.

"What happened?" Sarutobi swallowed everything done to remain calm as he placed a hand on the girl's forward trying to talk her into response. Nothing.

"Nightmare… She's told me she's been having a lot of them lately but I didn't think they were this bad."

"No," Sarutobi shook his head. "The ones she's been having before probably weren't as bad 'till now. We have to get her to relax or she'll fall into shock."

"Memori..?"

I wanted to open my eyes and address the person that spoke to me but my eyelids were too heavy to respond. A felt a hand in mine and turned my head to the left to find the owner, forcing my heavy eyes to open. A flash of pink filled my vision first and I had to close them and turn away from the sudden burst of color. I opened them a second time and found Naruto hovering over me.

"Memori? Are you okay now?" His voice shook with concern.

"Naru..?" My throat stung and was incredibly dry. His worried face flipped around to a relieved smile. I noticed Sakura was there too and she squeezed my hand tighter. "Where am I?"

"The hospital," responded Sakura.

Hospital? Why was I at the hospital? I started to sit myself up and was relieved to know nothing was wrong with my body other than my arms were cramped and sore. I lifted a hand to my eyes and found that they were swollen and probably red from tears. Then it came to me like a rushing current. That nightmare… I bowed chin to my chest, trying to keep it together in front of my friends but even after all that crying, tears managed to find their way down my face again.

I flinched and lifted an arm to rub away my tears as if it was a foreign act. I laughed quietly to myself. "Sorry. I'm okay."

"Memori…" The two that sat on either side of me couldn't find any words to say. And I was glad they didn't. I didn't want to know how pathetic I might look right then. Sakura reached out and rubbed my shoulder and Naruto proceeded to talk about everything and anything he could think about that didn't relate to my current state. Sakura snapped at him to stop rambling but I told her it was fine. It was only when Naruto was incredibly awkward and nervous did he start to talk and ramble.

"Sasuke didn't come?" After I breathed in a few calming intakes of air I noticed the stoic Uchiha wasn't around. I was so used to seeing the three together that it was odd to find one missing.

"Pff. Sasuke doesn't care about anyone," grumbled Naruto in a grudgingly way. Not true, I thought. "He probably has better things to do than visiting a friend in the hospital."

Any further bashing of her idol was ceased by a splintering punch. Naruto pleaded in apology pinching his bloody nose between two fingers and Sakura threatened again. I dropped my gaze to my lap and carefully stepped back into what I remembered about that nightmare. Was it real? Did it really happen or was it just like the other nightmares I've been having? This seemed different though. It was full of much more detail and I don't recall feeling the way I did now after waking up. I couldn't even remember how I got into the hospital but something told me that Kakashi must of panicked and brought me here. I sighed. There was nothing I could do and at this point there was nothing I _wanted_ to do. I didn't want to go through that ever again and I can only hope to the gods that it was _just_ a nightmare.

I bowed in thanks to the woman at the front desk thanking her for taking care of me over the night. She smiled and accepted and I left the hospital with my pajamas under one arm (Sakura had gotten some clothes for me from the apartment) with Naruto and Sakura. When we exited the double doors I stopped in surprise over who was waiting out front. The Uchiha lifted himself from his rest against the fencing at our arrival.

"Good morning Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed in her usual greeting while Naruto scoffed from my right.

Sasuke gave Sakura a second glance before locking his gaze with mine. I stared back mirroring his emotionless expression until his gaze dropped and he mumbled. "Are you okay..?"

Naruto squawked in surprise. I smiled to Sasuke and nodded. "Yes, thank you for asking."

"Kakashi said you had a bad nightmare."

"Uh, yeah…" I shifted uncomfortably. I didn't want everyone to know that I was put in the hospital for such a simple thing. Sasuke must of badgered Kakashi until he spilt the cause of me being in the hospital. "But it was nothing really."

"What was it about?" Sasuke didn't seem to care for the fact that what a person dreams about is private.

"Oi! Sasuke, she doesn't have to tell you anything!" Naruto stomped up to meet his rival in a glare. "So just leave her alone about it!"

"Naruto! He was just asking a question! Why do you have to be so defensive about it!" That's because Naruto knew that these nightmares might be a piece of my past and that I was scared of what it might all mean.

"It's okay Naruto." Naruto dropped his protective like stance in front of me and glanced back at a loss. I looked up to Sasuke and breathed in searching for a way to start but just thinking about it made my hands to start trembling. I hid them behind my back as quickly as I could but it went unnoticed by Sasuke.

"Nevermind. I don't need to know." The Uchiha turned on his heel and started his leave giving me one retreating glance before disappearing behind the gates.

"Sasuke-kun?" I think Sakura just enjoys hearing herself say his name over and over.

"Stupid jerk! Come on Memori," Naruto suddenly reached out and took my hand in his, pulling me along. My face flushed to a tint of red as I stumbled after him.

"Naru? Where are we going?" I asked wondering where the blond was pulling me.

"You wanted to learn how to do the Shadow Clone Jutsu, remember?" I smiled to myself and nodded. How does Naruto know exactly what to say to keep my mind off of things I didn't want to think about? Sakura hollered after them about something that she had to do with her parents and took her leave.

I spent the rest of the day with Naruto and his difficulties of trying to explain how a clone jutsu worked was so amusing that I couldn't think about anything else but how funny he was. I had to learn how to create a simple mirror image of myself first before I could possibly understand how a shadow clone—a physical copy—could work. Lucky for Naruto I had already read that chapter a dozen of times and just needed help performing it. It wasn't too difficult I noticed but performing a _shadow_ clone proved to be just that. Naruto would perform the jutsu himself before I tried, noticing that I'm more of a visual learner and needed to watch it happen first. I watched Naruto carefully even though all he did was perform a single seal and concentrate his chakra. And POOF! a second copy of himself appeared giving the same confident grin.

"Alright, try again Memori."

Getting myself to create a shadow clone was quite frustrating. I think I tried about a million times before I finally achieved something. That something did look like me but it was very transparent and didn't last longer than five seconds. I was too tired to try again after that and fell back into the cool grass below with a groan of frustration. Naruto laughed and sat beside me. He didn't say it out loud but I knew he was enjoying the fact that something he knew was difficult to master for someone else.

"It's impossible," I panted.

"You'll get it. If you can learn a stupid fire jutsu," the mere thought of it reminding him of Sasuke. "Then you can make a dozen of shadow clones!"

"Yeah but the blazing fireball jutsu was hard too. I still haven't gotten it right. Jutsus are hard! I'm only good at taijutsu I think." I gazed at the small scars on my hands left from the burns.

A pause. "Hey, Memori?"

"Hm?"

"What _was_ your nightmare about?"  
I frowned to myself as the dream's details came flooding back to the front of my mind again. I sat myself up and stayed in silence for some time, timidly trekking through that memory that I wanted to forget. Naruto was patient and waited for my response.

"It was… sad and terrifying all at once." I wasn't sure if that was the right words to put it.  
"Do you think it was a memory?"

"…I'm not sure. There's no way for me to tell one way or the other."

Naruto scratched his whiskered cheek in thought. "The last time you had a nightmare like that, did you do anything before you went to sleep?"

"Nothing really out of the ordinary. I ate, brushed my teeth and got into bed."

"There has to be something. But what?"

I turned to glance at Naruto whose sky blue eyes were in deep thought. I started to laugh which had me buckled over five seconds in from the flood of emotion. Tears welled in my eyes from the strain in my gut from how much laughing I was doing. It felt like someone was ticking me from the inside. Naruto stared at me thinking I've lost my mind.

"Oh my gawd. You've snapped!" He began to get worried, thinking that's what was causing me to laugh so hard.

"_Hahahaha_! Oh, don't worry Naruto," I hiccuped and rubbed my eyes, still giggling but stopped laughing more or less. I grinned as big as Naruto and rolled myself to my feet and stood ready for another round of attempting the Shadow Clone Jutsu. "One more time! This time, I'll get it right!"


End file.
